California
California and other Western states lead in unhealthy levels of air pollution, report shows
Smoke hangs over the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
California and different Western states are experiencing dirtier air high quality on account of worsening warmth, drought and wildfires, and communities of shade are disproportionately uncovered to air pollution, in response to a report revealed by the American Lung Affiliation on Wednesday.
The “State of the Air” report discovered that just about 120 million individuals, greater than a 3rd of the inhabitants, lived in areas with unhealthy ranges of air air pollution between 2019 and 2021. And greater than 64 million individuals of shade lived in counties with larger ranges of air pollution, comprising greater than half of people that stay with unhealthy air high quality.
Cities within the Western U.S., the place local weather change has pushed worsening heatwaves, drought and wildfires, ranked among the many highest polluted areas for ground-level ozone air pollution and tremendous particulate-matter air air pollution, the report discovered.
The report assigned letter grades reflecting the variety of days that air high quality in a particular space reached unhealthy ranges on the Air High quality Index. Particle air pollution refers to tiny pollution from sources like factories, energy vegetation, automobiles and wildfires, whereas ozone smog comes from automobiles, factories or different industrial sources.
Between 2019 and 2021, roughly 103 million individuals lived within the 124 counties that earned an F grade for ozone smog. Publicity to unhealthy ranges of ozone air air pollution makes respiration troublesome for extra individuals throughout the U.S. than every other single pollutant, the report mentioned.
California cities lead the rankings of probably the most polluted cities within the nation:
Prime ten cities with the worst ozone air pollution:
- Los Angeles-Lengthy Seaside, CA
- Visalia, CA
- Bakersfield, CA
- Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
- Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
- Denver-Aurora, CO
- Sacramento-Roseville, CA
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- Houston-The Woodlands, TX
- Salt Lake Metropolis-Provo-Orem, UT
In the meantime, greater than than 64 million People reside in counties with F grades for spikes in day by day particle air pollution. Wildfires within the western U.S. had been a significant factor within the rising variety of days and locations with unhealthy ranges of particle air pollution, the report discovered.
Bakersfield, which is positioned north of LA, ranked first for each day by day and year-round particle air pollution:
Prime ten cities with the worst day by day particle air pollution:
- Bakersfield, CA
- Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
- Fairbanks, AK
- Visalia, CA
- Reno-Carson Metropolis-Fernley, NV
- San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
- Redding-Pink Bluff, CA
- Sacramento-Roseville, CA
- Chico, CA
- Los Angeles-Lengthy Seaside, CA
Prime ten cities with the worst year-round particle air pollution:
- Bakersfield, CA
- Visalia, CA
- Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
- Los Angeles-Lengthy Seaside, CA
- Fairbanks, AK
- Sacramento-Roseville, CA
- Medford-Grants Move, OR
- Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
- San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN
Air air pollution takes greater than two years off the typical world life expectancy, in response to the Power Coverage Institute on the College of Chicago. Sixty % of particulate matter air air pollution comes from fossil gasoline combustion.
The report discovered that individuals of shade are virtually 4 instances as seemingly as white individuals to reside in an space with unhealthy ozone smog and particle air pollution ranges.
Harold Wimmer, nationwide president and CEO of the American Lung Affiliation, in a press release, mentioned nationwide ozone air pollution ranges are bettering however that “not all communities are seeing enhancements.”
“For this reason it’s essential to proceed our efforts to make sure that each individual within the U.S. has clear air to breathe,” Wimmer mentioned.
The report used information from air high quality displays managed by state, native and tribal air air pollution management authorities in counties throughout the nation. The authors famous that greater than 71 million People stay in counties the place ozone and particle air pollution ranges are presently not being monitored.
The authors of the report famous that local weather change is making it harder to guard human well being as a result of disasters like warmth, drought and wildfires are exacerbating excessive ozone ranges and will increase in tremendous particulate matter.
The American Lung Affiliation known as on the Biden administration to maneuver ahead with a number of measures to wash up nationwide air air pollution, together with new limits on ozone and particle air pollution and new measures to mitigate emissions from energy vegetation and automobiles.
California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will provide rebates to residents if President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration does away with a federal tax credit for electric vehicles.
In a news release issued Monday, Newsom said he would restart the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which provided financial incentives on more than 590,000 vehicles before it was phased out late 2023.
“We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California,” Newsom said. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”
The federal rebates on new and used electric vehicles were implemented in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. When Trump’s second term in office begins next year, he could work with Congress to change the rules around those rebates. Those potential changes could limit the federal rebates, including by reducing the amount of money available or limiting who is eligible.
Limiting federal subsidies on electric vehicle purchases would hurt many American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and the EV startup Rivian. Tesla, which also builds its automobiles in the United States, would take a smaller hit since that company currently sells more EVs and has a higher profit margin than any other EV manufacturer.
Newsom also announced earlier this month that he will convene a special session “to protect California values,” including fundamental civil rights and reproductive rights, that he said “are under attack by this incoming administration.”
“Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said on X on Nov. 7.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time California will be taking action against the Trump’s administration concerning clean transportation legislation.
In 2019, California and 22 other states sued his administration for revoking its ability to set standards for greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for vehicles, The Associated Press reported.
California sued the Trump administration over 100 times during his first term, primarily on matters including gun control, health care, education and immigration, the Los Angeles Times reported.
California
45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence
A 45-year-old cold case of a 17-year-old girl brutally raped and murdered has been resolved, bringing closure to the family. On February 9, 1979, Esther Gonzalez walked from her parents’ home to her sister’s in Banning, California, roughly 137 km east of Los Angeles. She never arrived. The next day, her body was discovered in a snowpack near a highway in Riverside County, California. Authorities determined she had been raped and bludgeoned to death, leading to an investigation that spanned decades.
The lab was able to match the DNA to a man named Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who died in 2014. Williamson, a US Marine Corps veteran, called authorities on the fateful day to report finding Ms Gonzalez’s body. At the time, he claimed he could not identify whether the body was male or female. Described as “argumentative” by deputies, Williamson was asked to take a polygraph test, which he passed, clearing him of suspicion in the pre-DNA era. He had faced assault allegations in the past but was never convicted of any violent crimes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Despite limited leads, the Riverside County cold case homicide team didn’t give up. A semen sample recovered from Ms Gonzalez’s body in 1979 was preserved but remained unmatched in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for decades.
In 2023, forensic technology finally caught up. The homicide team collaborated with a genetic lab in Texas that specialises in forensic genealogy. A sample of Williamson’s blood from his 2014 autopsy provided the DNA match needed to confirm him as the 17-year-old’s rapist and killer.
The Gonzalez family had mixed emotions—relief at finally having answers and sadness knowing Williamson would not face justice, as he died in Florida ten years ago. Ms Gonzalez, remembered by her family as a shy yet funny and mild-mannered young woman, was the fourth of seven children. Her oldest brother, Eddie Gonzalez, wrote on Facebook, “The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on a job well done. After 40 years, the Gonzalez family has closure.”
“We are very happy that we finally have closure,” Ms Gonzalez’s sister, Elizabeth, 64, shared with CNN. “We are happy about it but, since the guy has died, a little sad that he won’t spend any time for her murder.”
California
Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has detected the avian influenza or “bird flu” virus in a sample of a raw milk product. The product which was for sale at retailers at the time of the testing has now been recalled by the producer after the state of California requested it’s withdrawal from sale.
The affected product is cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County with lot code 2024110. The best buy date of the batch is 11. Nov, 2024 meaning consumers could still have it in their homes. No illnesses have currently been reported from this batch of milk, but people can take several days to develop bird flu after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, most people develop symptoms within 2-5 days, but can take up to 17 days to develop.
According to the CDC, bird flu symptoms may include fever or feeling feverish or chills, eye redness or irritation, and respiratory symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and tiredness.
Customers should not consume any product matching the description above and should return the product to stores or dispose of it. The CDPH is also in the process of informing re also in the process of informing retailers about the infected product to notify them to remove it from their shelves. The CDPH has since visited both locations of the company’s farms and has found no further evidence of bird flu. The CDPH will continue to test the farm’s milk twice a week.
The CDPH stresses that there is no risk of consuming pasteurized milk as the milk is heated to temperatures which inactivate bacteria and viruses. However raw milk does not go through this process, meaning any bacteria or viruses in the milk can be transferred to the consumer. Public health departments, as well as the CDC have long warned against the dangers of consuming raw milk, which has been responsible for outbreaks of Listeria, E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella, among other microbes.
California has been hit with bird flu outbreaks in both dairy cow herds and poultry farms with over 400 dairy herds affected as of 22. November. Twenty-nine human cases have also been recorded in the state, mostly individuals who have had close contact with infected livestock. The numbers of infected individuals are likely to be under reported and very little is known about the severity of disease in humans so far. Just two days ago, the CDC confirmed a case of H5N1 bird flu in a child in California with no known contact with livestock.
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